


Agnosia

by Lonely_Enigma



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Ambiguous Relationships, Can be taken as romantic or plantonic, Caretaking, Comfort, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Head Injury, Hurt/Comfort, IRL Minecraft, Infection, Protective Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Protective George, Sickfic, im a nursing student so things get medical
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:54:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26982466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lonely_Enigma/pseuds/Lonely_Enigma
Summary: Agnosia: nouninability to interpret sensations and hence to recognize things, typically as a result of brain damage.In which Dream gets injured, George tries to get medicine, and Sapnap wonders what he did to become the responsible one.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound/Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream/Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 39
Kudos: 713





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first fanfic and I'm honestly super nervous to post. I am a licensed EMT and nursing student, so medical scenarios like this are kind of my thing. 
> 
> Also shoutout to my amazing beta reader/editor StaggeringSkies because I would not have finished this without him!
> 
> I hope you enjoy <3

George knew it had been a bad idea. They should have left earlier — he should have been paying closer attention. Maybe if he had reacted a bit faster, they wouldn’t be practically dragging Dream up a mountain now. To Dream’s credit, for someone whose green cloak was rapidly staining red from the bloody gash on his back, he was carrying a surprising amount of his own weight. Earlier in the day, the three of them had discovered that they were running low on lapis which they needed to enchant their new armor. It was a simple enough endeavour; go to the nearby cave system, mine the lapis, and set up camp before dark. They had done this process countless times before and knew it was safest to make it out before nightfall. Had they not gotten lost in the convoluted tunnels, they would have made it out before night had fallen. The trio was already exhausted from spending time in the mines which made fighting even more laborious.

The fresh air burned George’s lungs as he deflected an arrow shot at him by a skeleton. With one swing of his axe, the skeleton was nothing more than a pile of bones for some animal to chew on later. He panted softly, his muscles aching from exertion as he wondered why they hadn’t left earlier. He was so focused on how tired he was that he hadn’t noticed the zombie that had emerged from the trees, heading right for him.

“George!”

Reacting to Dream’s cry for him, George whipped around, his heart dropping as the zombie lunged at him. He knew he needed to move, attack, evade, or do literally anything else but stand there frozen. Before he was 100% sure of what was happening, he was already being shoved out of the way. Dream’s sword connected with the zombie’s neck and the night fell silent once again. He panted wildly before grabbing George roughly and pulling him along.

“Come on let’s go!”

With their hearts pounding in their chests, the duo ran to avoid any more encounters. They quickly reunited with Sapnap and ran until they made it to a less-infested area. As they slowed their pace, they all took a moment to catch their breath, their hearts racing with anxiety and adrenaline.

“You guys good?” Sapnap panted as he gazed at his friends. George nodded slowly as he tried to catch his breath. Forcing himself to calm down, he reminded himself that the immediate danger was gone. George glanced at Dream to see him nod as well, his face unreadable underneath his mask. The three looked between each other for a moment before coming to a silent agreement — keep moving. They allowed themselves to walk slower now that the immediate threat was gone. The night had fallen quiet with only sounds of distant mobs and their footsteps to be heard. George’s body ached, his muscles sore from the day of continuous use. He had some minor injuries from where he hadn’t been fast enough, and he really wanted nothing more than to crawl in some safe hole where he could sleep for a while.

They walked for a while, but George suddenly got the worrying feeling something was wrong. He felt prickles of anxiety run up his spine and glanced around to see what could have been setting off the feeling. Sapnap was fine; he looked just as tired and injured as George but ultimately fine. George then looked around for his other friend. Dream was always at the head of their little group, remaining carefree as he led them to their next adventure. Dream wasn’t in front though — Sapnap was. George felt his heart rate pick up again when he turned around to see Dream trailing behind them. Breathing shallowly with gasping breaths, he seemed unable to do anything more than put one foot in front of the other and stare intently at the floor. George had been traveling with Dream for a while now; even when exhausted, Dream was always the one to stay in front. Always.

“Dream?” George called out to him, obvious concern lacing his voice. Sapnap had also picked up on the fact that Dream was moving slower than usual and shot George an equally concerned look. Dream glanced up at the two men before swaying dangerously. George ran to catch the taller man before he could fall, pressing a hand into his wet back.

_‘Wait, wet?’_

George aided Sapnap in steadying Dream while trying to understand why Dream’s back was soaked. George pulled his hand away, gasping when he realized his hand was covered in a dark brown substance that he knew to be Dream’s blood. He frantically examined the man’s back, only to see an increasingly large stain spreading from a jagged gash that had torn fabric and flesh alike. Sapnap had also noticed the grotesque wound and looked at George with wide, hysterical eyes. The wound was no doubt from the slash of a zombie. Sick guilt overwhelmed George when he realized that the wound was almost certainly from Dream defending him. He carefully hooked his arms under Dream’s shoulders, Sapnap following suit.

“We need to get somewhere safe and fast,” George told Sapnap who nodded in agreement. Dream was bleeding far too rapidly and they needed to make sure they wouldn’t get ambushed while trying to treat the wound. The mountain had been a stroke of luck. Being on higher ground would keep mobs from getting to them and shield them from the weather. They helped Dream up the mountain; it was easy at first with Dream still trying to support most of his weight. Now, Dream was barely upright and would’ve been on the ground if not for the support of the other two. George sighed in relief as they made it to a small ledge that jutted from the face of the mountain. He noticed that there was an alcove that led to a small cave in the mountain face. It was wide and circular — perfect to set up a little camp.

They made quick work; Sapnap set up a bedroll to lay Dream on and fetched their medical supplies while George frantically pulled off the man’s cloak. The wound was large, but it wasn’t deep enough to need stitches. Dream’s skin was cold and clammy, further indicating the urgency of getting the bleeding under control. George grabbed gauze and started packing the wound, putting as much pressure as he could on it. He was grateful that Dream had already passed out on the way up so that he wouldn’t have to hear the other’s heart-wrenching cries of pain. Gradually the bleeding slowed and the gauze retained its white color. He was then able to wrap the man’s torso with bandages to keep everything in place. It wasn’t perfect, but it stopped the bleeding.

“Alright, your turn,” George breathed before turning to Sapnap. A look of confusion crossed the younger’s face. George inched closer and carefully poured some clean water on a rag to gently wipe Sapnap’s cuts. Sapnap squirmed from the sting and tried to pull away, but George held him tight. George gave him an apologetic look before bandaging up his scrapes and cuts. He then began treating his own injuries, sighing as he calmed down from the events of the night. While he did that, Sapnap set up the other two bedrolls. After confirming once more that Dream wasn’t going to bleed out during the night, George laid down on his bedroll, letting exhaustion pull him into a deep sleep.

Hazy light drifted through the makeshift window they had made. George woke up lethargically, his body still aching from the day prior. He turned his head to acclimate to his surroundings. George smiled fondly when he noticed Dream still sleeping, but that smile melted into worry when he saw how quick his breathing was, and how he shivered under the blankets.

 _‘He must still be recovering from the blood loss,’_ George thought to himself. He pushed himself up and grabbed his pack, making sure he had glass bottles. He needed to find clean water for them to drink, and then honey to dress Dream’s wounds if he could find any. While he knew it would have been best to clean and dress the wound the night prior, the risk of Dream dying from blood loss was far too great. Taking one last look at his two sleeping travel partners, he carefully broke away the dirt they put up to block out the wind and stepped out.

The morning was cool and crisp; George sniffed as the autumn air nipped at his nose. He walked along the ledge before carefully climbing up the mountain until he reached a flat. Mountains like this often came with springs that flowed with fresh water, he just had to find it. After a bit of searching, the soft burbling of water filled his ears, alerting him to the nearby spring. George took the time to fill the glass bottles with the fresh, clean water of the spring before washing some wool he brought to make into fresh bandages for Dream. Once long strips of bandages were woven and rolled up, George packed the bottles of water and made his way down the mountain.

In the light of morning, he could see that the forest they had emerged from the night prior was in fact filled with flowers. George sighed in relief at his stroke of luck, this would make it much easier to find a beehive. The forest was calm, a stark contrast from the night prior. George took in the peaceful moment to really appreciate his surroundings. The flowers in bloom ranged from a golden yellow to what George guessed was orange and purple — the color of autumn flowers. Even the leaves were starting to turn and George smiled, appreciating the cooler weather. Out of the corner of his eye, George noticed a flash of movement. His heart jumped excitedly when he noticed that it was a bee. He remained a fair distance away, watching as it bumbled around before following it back to its hive. George quickly lit a torch and let the smoke float up into the beehive. Once the bees were properly sedated, George started carefully filling two glass bottles with the viscous liquid. He didn’t want to take too much, knowing that the bees were working hard to create their winter stores. He was grateful for the little creatures and the natural medicine they were able to supply him. Muttering a soft ‘thank you’, he turned away and started heading back to their little base.

When he got back, Dream was awake, staring blankly at the wall as he walked in. George walked over and sat next to him, passing him one of the water bottles. With all the blood he had lost the previous night, he knew it was imperative that Dream rehydrated. Luckily, he didn’t even have to say anything since Dream was already gulping the water down. George felt his heart break as he watched Dream gulp the water down as if his life depended on it. The poor man must’ve been parched, and George felt guilt rise in him as he questioned why he didn’t get water sooner. Shaking off his guilt, he moved to tend to Dream’s wound. The man was already laying on his stomach so it made his wound easily accessible. He carefully hiked up Dream’s shirt and undid the old bandages, wincing as he saw the stained deeper layers. The wound was still oozing blood, but it was much less concerning than it had been last night. Sapnap sat by the cave entrance, cooking fish for them to eat for breakfast. He had woken up not long after George left and took it upon himself to prepare food for them. At George’s gesture, he walked over and kneeled next to him. His nose wrinkled as he took in the sight of the wound.

“Is it supposed to look that red around the edges?” Sapnap questioned, looking at the wound. George’s eyebrows creased slightly in concern as he started carefully washing out the wound. He had called Sapnap over to help him examine the wound; his colorblindness made it near impossible to pick up color variances along Dream’s skin.

“It could just be that the wound is still irritated, but I’ll keep an eye on it,” George hummed, dripping honey onto the wound and carefully rubbing it in. At Dream’s strangled cry of pain, he gently pet his hair while whispering gentle apologies. His heart broke when he heard Dream muffle soft sobs into his arm. This spurred him into working quicker, his bandages much neater this time now that he wasn’t as panicked. George very gently stroked Dream’s hair, fluffing it up before smoothing it back down again. Feeling the other relax under his touch, he kept up the ministrations. He could feel Sapnap’s gaze on them before the younger got up and came back over with the cooked fish. George pushed the fish toward Dream, trying to get him to eat. Dream had calmed down somewhat and picked the flaky flesh from the bone. His hands shook as he did so and George felt his heart squeeze with worry. Seeing how he was still shivering, George got another blanket and carefully placed it around Dream before starting to eat his own fish.

The day went by slowly — they had already decided to stay the day to give Dream some time to recover. George worked on taking inventory of all their supplies while Sapnap was out gathering food. Halfway through counting their food, George felt a prickling sensation on his neck. He turned around to see Dream staring at him from where he was curled up in the blankets. The man was still shivering, and George had to admit it was making him a bit worried. Sure, it was a little chilly with the coming of autumn, but it wasn’t _that_ cold. George got up and went over to Dream, gently running a hand through Dream’s hair.

“Hey there, how are you feeling?”

“I’m cold… and thirsty…” Dream weakly whined. George frowned and nodded, moving to get him water. Now that he was closer, he could hear that the man was panting quietly. He tried to think of what could be causing the man to breathe so rapidly — maybe Dream was in pain? George passed him the water, gently brushing Dream’s hair out of his eyes. Freezing as his hand brushed Dream’s skin, he quickly pressed the back of his hand against Dream’s forehead before feeling his cheeks and neck.

“Dream? You still feel cold?” Dream made a soft noise and pulled the blankets tighter around himself as if to answer his question.

“You’re warm, I think you’re getting sick.”

“I felt fine yesterday.”

That was true. It _would_ be weird for Dream to suddenly fall ill without premonition.

“I feel sick, though. My head hurts, I feel achy, and everything keeps spinning…”

George nodded and moved to cradle the man against him. It was a little awkward since Dream was taller than him, but eventually, they were both settled in a comfortable position. George started running his fingers through Dream’s hair again, trying to calm the younger’s breathing and lull him back to sleep. Every so often, he would press a gentle kiss into Dream’s hair and mutter gentle things to him, content with watching the other sleep as the day went on.

By nightfall, George had realized the severity of the situation they were in. He carefully ran a damp cloth over Dream’s burning and pain contorted face, carefully cradling the younger man in his arms. He could feel the quick rise and fall of Dream’s chest and his pulse was rapid under his fingers. Dream had been in and out of sleep all day, his condition rapidly deteriorating. While Dream had been cold in the morning, George now knew that the shivering was actually the start of a horrible fever. When George had changed Dream’s bandages in the evening, he didn’t even need Sapnap’s gagging to tell him that the wound was horribly infected. He could see the dying tissue and fluid that the wound was leaking. Sick guilt sat in his stomach as Dream whimpered incomprehensibly about how the wound itched. He knew that he’d ultimately saved Dream’s life by not cleaning the wound before trying to stop the bleeding, but now he wondered if he had only prolonged Dream’s death. George pushed the horrible thought from his mind and instead held a bowl of warm mushroom stew to his lips. Dream wrinkled his nose and turned away from food.

“Dream, please, you need to eat something to keep your strength up,” he said in a soft almost singsong voice as he stroked the other’s hair. All he got back was hazy eyes blinking up at him in confusion. George sighed but slowly coaxed Dream into drinking a few sips of stew.

“G-George? I’m scared…”

“I know, it’s ok Dream. I’m going to stay right here with you, you’ll feel better soon.”

It broke George’s heart to see his normally confident and strong friend looking so scared and ill. He did his best to soothe the other until Dream fell into an uneasy sleep. George sighed, knowing he wouldn’t get much sleep that night himself. He was far too worried and desperate to break Dream’s high fever to even consider sleeping. During the night, when Dream would cry out from feverish nightmares or pain, George was there. He would hold the younger man to calm him and try to coax water into him by pressing a wet rag to his lips. As he gently brushed Dream’s sweat-soaked bangs off his burning forehead, his mind raced with thoughts ranging from treatment ideas to the ice cold fear of Dream dying.

“We need to do something.”

George ran a hand through his hair, gripping it tightly as he looked at Sapnap tiredly.

“I know that, Sapnap!” He snapped, but it came out more exhausted than angry.

It had been a long night of taking care of Dream, and as the night progressed, it only became more evident that their attempts to treat him would prove fruitless. They needed medication, and they needed it fast. Luckily, after a few hours of digging through their old maps, George managed to pinpoint a nearby village. It was two days north from where they were now. The only problem was that Dream was in no condition to travel, and one of them would need to stay with him.

“George, no offense but we both know that I’m the better fighter. You know how dangerous travelling alone is. Besides, you’re better than me at all this medical crap, so you should stay with Dream and make sure he doesn’t die,” Sapnap argued, crossing his arms.

They had been arguing for 20 minutes now on who would stay with Dream and who would go. Dream had been perfectly content watching the two argue from his place on his bedroll, too delirious to really understand what was going on. After a bit, though, he rolled onto his side and shoved his face underneath his pillow. George and Sapnap were seemingly unaware of Dream’s distress as they continued arguing.

“That’s exactly why I need to be the one to go! You are just going to make it all the way there and back only to get the wrong medication. I can teach you how to take care of Dream,” George huffed in exasperation. Sure, he wasn’t as skilled as Sapnap or Dream, but he wasn’t completely defenseless. George dropped it, knowing this wouldn’t be resolved with words. He still showed Sapnap how to change the bandages under the pretense that ‘he had to learn anyways’, but they both spoke with stiff formality due to their earlier argument. The only thing keeping them united was their shared worry for Dream. Once George had watched Sapnap switch out Dream’s old bandages for fresh ones, they tucked the man in and got ready for bed.

Moonlight peeked through the window, and George opened his eyes. He moved quietly, gathering things to put in his pack: a few bottles of water, some pieces of dried fish, and his axe. It only took another ten minutes or so to find and mark a quick route to the village. Rolling up the map, George stood up, quietly breaking through the dirt at the entrance. He took a deep breath and went to step outside—

“George…?”

Shit. George turned back around and saw Dream staring at him with teary eyes.

“Where are you going…?” He sniffled, looking heartbroken. George quietly went over to Dream and gently rubbed the back of his head to try and soothe him. The last thing they needed was for Dream to get dehydrated from crying.

“I’m going to get you medicine, ok? Don’t worry — Sapnap will take good care of you,” George said in a soft voice and carefully pet Dream’s hair until he fell back asleep. He gave the man one last look, drinking in the sight of all his features before heading out into the night.

George had been travelling for a day now. In the morning, he was determined, carefully plotting his route along a map. He was deliberate in making sure he was taking the shortest route; careful not to make any missteps that might hinder his progress. In the afternoon, he was reflective. It was during this time of silence that George was free to be with his thoughts and he hated it. Nausea overwhelmed him when he thought of Dream sick and shivering under the blankets they threw on top of him. George was terrified that the four-day round journey would already prove to be too long to save Dream. When his body weakened from his growing anxiety, his mood shifted to loneliness. The three of them had been traveling with each other for as long as George could remember.

On normal days, they would fill the forest with the sounds of their bickering and laughter which only made the current silence all the more unnerving. Sapnap and Dream had always felt safe, they were always there to protect him, except for now. During the night, George was overwhelmed by fear. Sapnap had been right; out of the three of them, he was the weakest fighter. In the past he could also rely on the other two to have his back. Now he was fighting alone — something he hadn’t done since meeting Dream and Sapnap. George couldn’t risk sleeping either because sleeping meant wasting time that Dream didn’t have. His lungs burned in the cold air of the night. While the autumn weather was lovely during the day, in the night, it was bitter and cold. His heart pounding as the sounds of mobs rang in his ears.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George goes off on his journey and runs into a lot of trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Thank you all so much for the overwhelming support on chapter 1, I definitely wasn't expecting it and there were many times I almost started crying from happiness. 
> 
> Anyways here is chapter 2! Things get slightly more medical in this chapter as well but I hope you enjoy <3

The sunrise casted a dim light over the village as George entered. He was exhausted; he could barely see straight as he walked. Biting his lip, he gripped his hair — this really wasn’t the time to be giving into exhaustion. He noticed a barrel filled with water and dunked his head in without a second thought in an attempt to chase away the fatigue. The water was jarringly cold; George sputtered and coughed when he pulled his head out again. Sure, he was now shivering, but it did help clear away the exhaustion. He pulled up his hood to hide his wet hair, so he could avoid the strange looks the locals might give him.

It was a nice little village, very simplistic and well protected by the mountains that surround it. Not many would think twice about stopping there had it not been for the renowned village apothecary. People would come far and wide just to purchase the town’s elusive elixirs that promised wellness to those who drank them. Frankly, of all the places for Dream to get sick nearby, they were fortunate that it was this village. George took a deep breath as he headed to the apothecary stall of the market. The medications did not sell for cheap, and George had to be certain to pick the right one.

_“Infection. I need something that can treat a severe infection from a zombie wound.”_

The stall was minimalistic for all the fame it got — a plain white painted stall lined with bottles of potions. An old woman stood there, giving him an expectant smile as he walked up. The glint in her eyes unnerved George. It was as if she had been waiting for him.

“Well boy, what will it be?” she asked as he walked up to her stand. George swallowed nervously, his eyes flickering over the bottles.

“I need something that will treat a zombie bite infection. My friend has a high fever that we can’t seem to bring down.”

The lady hummed, her hand wandering over the bottles. She finally pulled out one of the bottles, swirling the contents around a bit. Her gaze then turned back to George and she gave him a toothy grin.

“Now potions like this don’t come for cheap boy. How exactly do you plan on paying for this?”

A determined look crossed George’s face as he pulled out a small bag full of emeralds and gold.

“Name your price.”

The woman hummed thoughtfully before settling on a price of 10 emeralds. Just as George was about to turn and leave, she slid over a sachet of yellow flowers and a bottle of what looked to be some kind of dark-colored syrup. When he gave her a questioning look, the woman only offered a cryptic smile.

“Just a little something extra that I think will come in handy to you later.”

George only nodded slowly before walking away, shaking off the odd encounter. Heading to a nearby alley, George plopped himself on the ground and pulled out his map. He spent the next hour staring intently at the map, tracing routes in an attempt to find the fastest route back to Dream. Even though it was imperative that his route be mapped, George still felt anxious about delaying his departure further.

As soon as he had his route planned, George quickly packed up and left the village. Sure he could have stocked up, purchasing various things they needed for their journey ahead. But then again, Dream’s life hung in the balance of borrowed time. They could always come back.

The forest was dark with a plethora of trees whose leaves blocked the sun. George rubbed his head slightly, trying to push away the annoying pricks of pain he felt behind his eyes. The sound of a river gurgled nearby and George became aware of the distinct dryness of his throat. He had been so focused on getting to the village as quickly as possible that he neglected his own needs. One of them being that he needed to refill his water bottles. George coughed and headed to where he heard the river’s rushing. As soon as he got there, he dropped to his knees and started to scoop as much of the cool liquid into his mouth as possible. The burning in his throat subsided and his head felt just a bit more clear. Grabbing the bottles from his back, he placed them under the flow until they were full. Not wanting to waste another moment, George sprung to his feet. Horrible idea. George stumbled as his vision spun and black dots gathered at the corners of his vision. He managed to stumble a few feet away from the bank before the darkness overwhelmed him and he felt the vague sensation of falling.

When he finally came too, he was keenly aware of two things. Firstly, his body ached, his joints protesting as he tried to push himself up. Secondly, it was dusk. George’s heart rate picked up, he had spent nearly the whole day just _sleeping_. Dream was dying and he had just laid there for hours. George felt disgust bubble up inside him with how useless he was. He shook his head and forced himself up. This was no time for self-loathing, he needed to keep moving.

George picked up the pace, one hand on the torch he held, and the other on his axe. Despite being out for hours, he couldn’t shake the cloudiness that overcame his mind. He was so focused on listening for the telltale signs of mobs — the rattle of bones, the groans of a zombie, the hiss of a creeper — that he missed the sudden crack of a branch behind him.

There was a whooshing sound and suddenly George felt a sharp sting in his cheek. He pressed his fingers to it and winced as they came back wet and dark with blood. He whipped around and instead of seeing a skeleton like he expected, there was a group of four large men with one aiming a crossbow at him. Bandits.

“Hey there, pretty boy! We saw you in the market with all those emeralds and, now they are going to be ours.” The man with the crossbow said, already gearing up to fire another shot, this time aimed at George’s chest. George took off in a sprint, pushing his exhausted body as fast as it could go. His lungs burned and he had to force down the urge to cough lest he threw up. They were chasing after him of course, their breath hot on his neck as he only barely kept his lead on them. He strategically weaved in and out of trees, using his smaller size to his advantage.

George burst into a clearing, and his breath hitched. Now there was nothing stopping the bandits from catching up to him. To his surprise though, they stopped at the treeline and turned away. George was confused but elated as they sneered and left. His happiness was short-lived, however, when he heard a quiet hiss. Everything moved in slow motion; he turned over his shoulder to see 3 creepers standing in front of him. There was a bright flash of light and a deafening boom. Suddenly, George could feel himself flying through the air much like a thrown ragdoll would. A sharp pain in the back of his head that made his vision dance with swirls of color and light before everything went dark.

George woke up gradually, slowly opening his eyes as he stared up at the stars. His head hurt horribly; he didn’t think he’d ever experienced this amount of pain for a headache in his life. It was cold, his head hurt, the stars were pretty, he needed to sit up. George slowly pushed himself up, feeling the world around him spin. He glanced around and tried to take in his surroundings, making a futile attempt to blink the blurriness from his vision. From what he could tell, he was in a small but fairly deep ditch.

_‘Why am I here? What am I doing?’_

George tried to focus and come up with any memory of how he had gotten there or even why he was out in the middle of the woods. He held his head and curled up as he tried to think. It was night, he vaguely remembered it being night so he couldn’t have been out for too long. He had been running, from what he couldn’t remember, but he had been running. George looked up and glanced around, the ditch was deep enough for him to be safe. He rubbed his head and tried to recall what had happened previous to him running.

_‘I was… in a village?’_

His eyes landed on his pack, and he carefully examined the contents. He was sure that if he had been in a village, there must’ve been something they needed to buy. Maybe they had been completing a job, and he’d gotten separated from the other two? Pulling out the objects in his bag, he carefully examined them: 4 bottles (two filled with water, one filled with a dark-colored liquid, and one filled with a brighter colored liquid), a map, some food rations, a sachet of flowers, and a pouch with a few emeralds and gold nuggets. George focused his attention on two bottles of colored liquid. One of them in particular got his attention, it had a glittering shine to it, a quality only potions possessed. Potions were rare, George could remember that much; that must’ve been what he had gotten from the village. Something in the back of his mind told him that it was medicine but that didn’t make sense.

_‘Why would I be buying medicine?’_

George was getting frustrated because it all should’ve made sense to him, but it wasn’t. Memories were evading him, and he was having trouble even focusing on getting them back. He sniffled and rubbed his nose as he thought about his missing travelling partners. If he had just been buying something then they should have been with him. George closed his eyes and rested his head on his knees; he didn’t think they would just abandon him. His eyes suddenly flew open, sitting upright even with the throb in his head protesting the movement. He had remembered something important—

_‘Dream. I was buying this for Dream because—’_

George’s hands started to shake and his breathing quickened the moment he remembered his mission. He hurriedly unfolded the map and tried to trace the dark lines back to where he needed to go. Light started to filter through the trees as day broke. George bit his lip; between his fainting episode yesterday and now spending the whole night reorienting himself, he had lost a full day. As the light shone in his eyes, George found himself scrambling to put on his darkened glasses to relieve the even worse headache it brought.

The ditch was slightly steep, but with a little effort, George had been able to climb out. He looked down at the map, knowing he needed to reorient himself. There was a mountain range next to him and what looked like a lake in the distance. Finding the two features on the map, he started heading back on his path.

After an hour, George was fairing _horribly_. He was certain that as time went on, his world would make more sense, but instead, he found that the opposite happened. The blur that had clouded his vision still hadn’t left which made reading the map and finding landmarks more arduous. He shivered violently and found himself far more frustrated when his cloak seemed to offer no protection from the chill. There was a stinging sensation in his throat, and he couldn’t stand to drink the water he had packed.

George giggled as he watched the world around him sway. Something about the sight was just so funny to him. He grabbed onto a tree to steady himself, stumbling over his own legs. His elated laugher soon turned to sobs as his stomach lurched, and he threw up the few sweet berries he had eaten earlier. It was only when his knees gave out underneath him and he collapsed on the forest floor that he realized he was also hyperventilating. A long moment passed where he just laid there, attempting to catch his breath before he shakily retrieved the map. Focusing on the map was difficult when literally everything around him seemed to be distracting him and making his headache worse. Even as his vision swam, he had no other option than to try and squint harder at it. When he was satisfied with the route he’d managed to pick out, he weakly pushed himself up, clinging to one of the trees for support. Ignoring how fast he was breathing, George rubbed his nose and pushed forward.

As the mountain where he had left his friends came into view, he couldn’t help but feel his heart soar. As soon as he got to the base of the mountain though, that elatedness turned to dread. The climb up was long and arduous, so how the hell had Dream managed it just a few days prior? He took a deep breath — this was no time to be feeling sorry for himself — Dream needed him.

“Don’t worry Dream, I’m coming…” he muttered and began his ascent, his injuries aching with each movement.

He had to get to Dream.

He _had_ to get to Dream.

_He had to get to Dream._

That single thought persisted in his head as he made his ascent, repeating the phrase over and over again. He moved slowly, motivating himself with the promise of comfort and warmth that he knew he would find upon reaching his destination. The higher he climbed, the more the world around him spun. Each time he looked up, he felt the overwhelming urge to throw up, but he had to keep going. His breathing was labored and raspy, punctured by harsh wet coughs that left him gasping for air, but it only served as a reminder of how easily Dream’s breathing could cease. The unforgiving mountain winds cut into his skin as if his cloak wasn’t even there, _but he was so close to home_. Giving up now wasn’t an option, no matter how much his body screamed at him to.

After about an hour of climbing, he heaved himself onto the ledge that led to the small alcove that they had dug into to make their camp. George pressed his hands against the dirt and tried to think. His friends were just on the other side but _how was he supposed to get in?_ Holding his head, he tried to think of the rational solution that evaded him, frustrated tears springing to his eyes at the complexity of the task. George could feel his strength fading and darkness gathering at his vision. It hurt that he had gotten so close and yet… and… yet—

_“George!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for reading! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and coincidentally enough, I just had a test on most of the injuries I wrote about. If you guys want, I was thinking of adding a bonus chapter where I actually explain the different symptoms they are having and why. Let me know if that's something you would be interested in! I love you all and I'll see you next chapter <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream and George are emotional babies while they recover and Sapnap is 200% done with both of them.

_George groaned internally as the pain hit him — he couldn’t tell if he was awake or even alive for that matter. Everything around him was dark, and for a brief, terrifying moment, he wondered if he had gone blind. Then George remembered that to see, he needed to open his eyes. The task alone seemed impossible though since breathing was already taking energy that his body didn’t have. As his thoughts cleared a little more, he realized that he could hear Dream’s voice somewhere above him._

_“What happened to him?”_

_“Jeez, Dream — calm down!”_

_“‘Calm down?’ He’s burning up, covered in burns, and dehydrated!”_

_“Dream, calm down. I know you’re worried dude, but you literally just woke up yourself.”_

_The conversation faded away as the darkness pulled him under again._

When George woke up again, he couldn’t tell how much time had passed, or if the conversation he had seemingly overheard was real. His head pounded, and every breath he took made his chest ache painfully. He groaned and tried to open his eyes to force himself into a sitting position, but these efforts proved fruitless as his body failed to move. His first coherent thought was that he felt distinctly worse than when he had fallen asleep. His wounds had been cleaned and wrapped, but without the adrenaline coursing through his veins, it didn’t do much for him. It had been adrenaline that had kept him going for the past 4 days. Worry over Dream mixing with his fight or flight instincts acted as one hell of a painkiller. While yesterday he had been able to climb a mountain, today he felt like he couldn’t even sit up. He heard movement next to him, indicating that he wasn’t alone. George felt strong arms wrap around him and carefully sit him up. He finally cracked his eyes open to see Sapnap staring down at him worriedly. George hissed in pain as the light hit his eyes and only attempted reopening them when Sapnap slipped his glasses back on his face.

“Did something happen to Dream?” his words were so rushed that they almost blended together in his haste to spit the sentence out.

“Hey, easy. You’re okay… here drink this,” Sapnap murmured, avoiding his question. The smell of mushroom stew hit his nose as Sapnap lifted the bowl to his lips. George was confused, he couldn’t comprehend why Sapnap was speaking so softly to him, or why he was being given mushroom stew since something usually reserved for when one of them was sick or injured.

“Is someone unwell?”

“Yes, now drink the stew.”

“Is it me…?”

“Yes, _sweetheart_ , now shut up and drink.”

_‘That makes sense,’_ George thought as he took small sips of the stew — it would explain why everything hurt so bad. The soup caught in his throat and suddenly George felt like he had forgotten how to swallow. He quickly turned and coughed up the soup before he choked.

“George!”

“C-Can’t swallow... “ he tried to explain, voice raspy from both his illness and nearly aspirating. Sapnap sighed in worry and rubbed his arm.

“It’s ok… we can try again later. Just rest, ok?”

George settled back down against Sapnap’s chest, the other drawing a blanket over his shoulders and pressing a damp rag to his forehead. It was cool against his heated skin and helped ease his headache somewhat. He tried to lift his head a bit in order to look for Dream (hadn’t he heard the other man speaking earlier?), but his quest was swiftly abandoned as another wave of exhaustion hit him.

“Did… did something happen to Dream?” he lazily slurred, exhaustion getting the best of him.

At that, Sapnap just sighed and mumbled, “Dream, get over here. This is like the hundredth time he’s asked for you, dude. I think he’s really out of it.”

Even laying down with his eyes closed he felt dizziness overwhelm him. He could hear footsteps walking over to him, but they soon faded with the ringing in his ears. Darkness once again gathered at the corners of his vision as his exhaustion won out and he fell back asleep.

_He couldn’t open his eyes, the light would hurt far too much. He had learned that lesson from last time. He recognized vaguely that he was being held close to someone’s chest, their hand gently running their fingers through his hair. It was nice. A conversation floated somewhere above him; he tried to make out what they were saying, but this proved far too strenuous, so he let the darkness take him again._

There was someone running their fingers through his hair. A strange sense of déjà vu overcame George as if someone had just been doing that. George slowly touched his face to assure his glasses were on before blinking his eyes open. The other’s gentle ministrations soothed his pounding headache. He could tell it was night from the lack of light coming through the window. Dream sat up against the wall with his eyes closed, his fingers gentle as they tangled in his hair.

George felt his heart rate pick up as he blinked up at the man. Even though there was something familiar about all of this, no matter how hard he focused, he couldn’t recognize the person before him. The small adrenaline kick the panic gave him was enough to spur him into motion. He quickly stood up and regretted it instantly as his world spun and he collapsed against the wall, weakly vomiting the minuscule amount of food he had been given since returning. He heard people rush up to him, two men who were looking at him with worry and fear in their eyes. When they tried to grab him, he weakly batted them away and started to sob. George didn’t understand why he was alone.

_‘Where are Dream and Sapnap?’_ He thought as he swayed and fell forward. The taller man who had been holding him originally caught him and held him close.

“George, calm down… it’s us…” The man holding him muttered into his hair. George opened his eyes in shock, the voice had been Dream’s. However, when George looked at ‘Dream’, all he saw was a stranger. The other carefully lowered him back to the bedroll, almost like if he was any rougher George would break like a porcelain doll.

“I-I don’t — _why_ do you look like that? How are you e-even… awake?” George wept; somewhere in the back of his injured mind, he knew he was being far too dramatic. He felt a hand make its way back into his hair in an attempt to soothe him while Dream maneuvered around a bit.

“Here, how’s this…?” Dream asked softly, gently lifting George’s face to look up at him. George opened his eyes to see a smiling porcelain mask staring back at him. For some odd reason, in George’s mind, the man had gone from being an unrecognizable stranger to his close friend. George sniffled and gave him a watery smile, but Dream took no solace in it.

“George, what did you have for dinner?” he asked in that eerily calm way he sometimes spoke in.

It took a moment, but George finally answered, “Fish. Sapnap made it for breakfast.”

“Sapnap made us _mushroom stew_ , George,” Dream briskly corrected. “We haven’t had fish in days. I also asked about _dinner,_ not breakfast.”

George tried to make sense of the sentence, but thinking only served to tire him out. Seeing as he wasn’t going to get any more out of George, Dream decidedly moved on from the conversation and carefully dipped a rag into a nearby basin of water. It was a surprise that George had the energy to drink from the dripping cloth, but Dream took that in stride as hopefully good news. Already exhausted from trying to run and fight, it wasn’t long before George was already slipping back into unconsciousness.

_“How could we have missed this?”_

_“Dude chill, how could have we known?”_

_George could hear someone frantically pacing next to his bedroll._

_“Oh, I don’t know, Sapnap. Maybe because he’s been acting weird for days? I know_ you _can’t tell when there’s something wrong, but_ I _should have been able to!”_

_The argument blended into a jumbled mess of words that George couldn’t quite hear. He wondered vaguely if this was what Dream had suffered through when he and Sapnap were arguing._

Days passed by in a much similar fashion, George waking up every so often with either Dream or Sapnap trying to coax water into him along with food once he could swallow again. It was on the third day of him being home that George’s head finally cleared up enough for him to stay awake for more than a few minutes. He had woken up alone in the cave and slowly sat up, performing a mental check of his body. Although his wounds still throbbed with a dull ache, they had been well taken care of with fresh, neat bandages wrapped around them. His head still hurt but he felt like everything was much clearer than it had been. He coughed and winced as it brought up a familiar ache in his chest — maybe dunking his head in freezing water in cold weather hadn’t been the best idea.

Just as George finished checking himself over, Dream and Sapnap walked in. George made eye contact with the two men and there was a moment of silence between the three of them before suddenly the two men were running at him. Dream reached him first, throwing his arms around the smaller male and crushing him against his chest.

“George! I— you— _what_ —”

“Dude, take a _breath_.” Sapnap shook his head as he settled himself next to the duo, wrapping an arm around George. Dream took a deep breath before gently resting his head atop George’s.

“ _What the hell were you thinking going out on your own like that?_ Where the fuck were you? Why didn’t you drink anything? Are you feeling ok? How did you get so sick? Why didn’t you let Sapnap go?” As he rambled, he pressed the back of his hand to George’s forehead and grabbed a wet cloth to gently wipe over his face.

“I couldn’t just let you die! Sapnap wouldn’t know the right medicine to get which is why _I_ had to be the one to go. I’m not as helpless as you think.”

“I _know_ you aren’t helpless, but it was _still_ — still reckless, and, a-and, and _stupid_ of you to just— _I can’t believe it_. You seriously— you just _rushed_ out there on your own. And you didn’t answer the other questions, George.”

“Well, it was stupid of you to just start bleeding to death and nearly die from an infection!”

Dream opened his mouth to interject but Sapnap quickly placed a hand on his shoulder.

“We know George, we were just a bit worried when you came back and collapsed from a _head injury_ ,” the younger pointedly looked at Dream as he emphasized that last part. Dream let out a frustrated sigh before turning back to George.

“How are you feeling?”

“Why do you care if I’m so useless?”

“ _Enough! Both of you_ , god, when did I become the responsible one?” Sapnap shook his head. George watched Sapnap get up before coming back over with water and mushroom stew.

“George, here, are you hungry? You should drink and try to get something in your stomach.”

George took the stew and water from Sapnap, taking an experimental sip to see if he could swallow it. It was still a little difficult but if he took small sips, he figured he’d be fine. George tilted his head in slight confusion as he watched Sapnap stare intently at Dream while the other man pouted. His irritation was replaced with a slight feeling of guilt when he watched Sapnap press a hand to Dream’s forehead before pressing a bottle of water into his hand. In his own confusion, it had briefly slipped his mind that Dream was still recovering too. He set the empty bowl and water bottle aside before laying back down on his bedroll, back facing the other two so that they wouldn’t be able to see his face. Someone placed a gentle hand on his shoulder before tucking the blanket around him. Despite only being up for a bit, George felt exhausted. Just the act of focusing on the conversation and then eating had completely drained him. He decided to sleep.

“I think you should talk to Dream.”

George answered with silence as Sapnap carefully wrapped fresh bandages around his wounds. He noted that the other’s bandaging skills had improved greatly while he was gone. Previously they had been a bit sloppy and prone to slip and unravel, but now they were tight and neat. Dream was currently fast asleep on his bedroll which was laid a couple feet away from them. Sapnap sighed at the lack of the other man’s response.

“Look, I know you aren’t really thinking clearly right now, but the dude is seriously worried for you. I mean he _freaked_ when he woke up and saw you in the state that you were in. He kept rambling to me about how you were taking forever to wake up— he was _scared_.”

“Cleary not if he’s so angry with me.”

“God, _please_. You‘re both sick and hurt, and you’re acting like babies. Can you two just stop fucking fighting? You know Dream is just mad at himself, and _you’re_ just mad because you have a head injury.”

George stayed silent and instead rolled over on his side and pulled the blankets over his head. He knew that he was being childish, but he still felt so irritated with Dream. He knew that he probably should’ve been relieved to see Dream up and speaking, but he couldn’t shake the annoyance he felt. Would it have been any better for Sapnap to return in one piece with the wrong medicine? Did they really think it was that much of a burden to tend to his injuries? Deciding he was sick of this emotional crap for the time being, he closed his eyes and tuned out the world.

George felt groggy when he woke up next; he hadn’t even realized he had fallen asleep. The blanket had been moved down from his head so that it was now wrapped around his shoulders. He heard speaking above him.

“…do you understand how fucking worried I am, George? You— you aren’t acting right, you aren’t acting like yourself. Do you understand how fucking terrifying this is for me? For Sapnap? Your skin is fucking _burning_ , you have a fever, and I don’t know _why_. Sapnap tried to give you water, and you chugged it until you literally _choked_. I just— what if you didn’t wake up…? It would’ve been all my fault… I should have known something was wrong sooner.”

George just laid there and listened to Dream speak, feeling at war with his emotions. One side of him wanted to stay angry, to sit up and scream at Dream for making him feel so hurt when he had just risked life and limb to save him. The other side felt guilty; Dream wasn’t fully well himself, yet George was here causing all this worry and stress. His heart panged when Dream wiped his forehead with a wet cloth. Feeling this would be an appropriate time to ‘wake up’, he opened his eyes.

Dream looked down at him quietly and ran a gentle hand through his hair as he pressed the cloth to George’s cheeks. Dream repeated the motions a couple of times, carefully wiping his face, and petting his hair.

“Go back to sleep George…” he said in a whisper. It reminded George of a long time ago when he would wake up in the night as an ill child with his mother trying to soothe him back to sleep. He thought about what Sapnap had said earlier. _I think you should talk to Dream._

“Clay…?” George whimpered. It was a pitiful sound made worse from the hoarseness of his voice. He could feel Dream startle in response to his real name being used and the other’s grip tighten protectively around him.

“Am I a burden…?” George whispered, his mind cloudy with fever, injury, and night. It was too dark for him to see Dream’s expression but he felt the hand in his hair pause.

“No, _no_ , of course you aren’t. Why do you think that?”

George felt hot tears spring to his eyes and start to drip down his cheeks. Dream swiftly moved to wipe them away with the cool, wet cloth he had. “I-I just— with my injuries, you and Sapnap need to take care of me—”

“Did… did I make you feel that way?” George was quiet for a moment, closing his eyes and taking shaky breaths. There was anger starting to bubble up inside him again.

_‘Of course you made me feel that way! What else am I supposed to think when I wake up only to be yelled at?’_ George thought bitterly to himself.

Dream, figuring George wasn’t going back to sleep anytime soon, got up and went to start heating water. George turned over to look at him before deciding to respond.

“I just wanted to make sure you didn’t die, but when I woke up, you were yelling at me like I did something _wrong_. You know I can defend myself! I’m not a child, _Dream_ , I don’t need you or Sapnap to babysit me.”

Dream didn’t respond. In the dim light, George could see him cast a glance at Sapnap’s sleeping form. It was then that George also became distinctly aware of the burning feeling in his throat that came with thirst. He felt his cheeks heat up when he realized he really didn’t have the energy to get water for himself. “

Dream…? Can I have water please…?” George rasped.

“I thought you said you didn’t need babysitting.”

George had to admit, he wasn’t expecting that response from the man who just a few minutes earlier had been wiping his brow and hushing him back to sleep.

“Weren’t _you_ the one complaining about me having a fever?”

“ _You were awake for that?_ ” Dream hissed. George scowled as he glared at the dirty blonde.

“Well maybe if you didn’t practically whisper your complaints into my ear, then I wouldn’t have been woken up. Now give me water,” he whined.

Dream just shook his head before coming back over to George. In the dim light, George could barely make out his face; he looked exhausted. Now the guilty feeling was back, god why did he have to keep arguing, especially when Dream was only trying to take care of him when still ill himself. George frowned, and when Dream got close enough, he hugged his arm, pressing his forehead against him in silent apology. Dream rubbed his back before sitting him up. He blinked as Dream passed him a bowl full of... tea? Since when did they have tea leaves on them? Noting George’s confused look, Dream spoke up.

“You had elderflowers and elderberry syrup in your pack, Did you know you were getting sick?”

George just gave him a blank look. Dream hummed and helped him guide the bowl up his lips to drink. Once George had finished the tea, Dream had him take a spoonful of the sickly sweet syrup. Dream went back to pressing the cold cloth against his heated skin as he helped George lay down again.

“I’m sorry…” George whispered after a while. “I don’t know why I’m so upset. I-I should be relieved that you are ok.”

Dream was quiet for a moment before leaning down to press a kiss to George’s head.

“I’m sorry too, I didn’t mean to make you feel bad. I was just scared. I— it freaked me out seeing you like that” Dream said softly, holding George close.

George just hummed and snuggled his cheek into the material of Dream’s shirt. Dream was safe, he was safe, they were going to be okay.

“Go to sleep George…” Dream said softly and stroked George’s hair until the older man’s breathing slowly evened out.

“You never told us, so what happened to you while you were out there?”

George looked over at Sapnap as he spoke. He shifted a bit uncomfortably, truthfully he didn’t fully remember what had happened himself. He sighed and tried to piece together what broken fragments of memory he did have.

“I— Ow! Dream!”

The younger man paused from where he was wrapping fresh, clean bandages around George’s wounds. Dream had been recovering nicely from his brush with death. As George became more coherent, he was able to appreciate the wonders the medicine had done for Dream. Even with the lingering effects of the infection, the fact that within a few days’ time Dream had both the strength and mental clarity to bandage George’s wounds was astonishing. Dream looked at George sheepishly.

“Sorry,” He said, humming as he worked a little more carefully.

“You could help, you know,” Dream huffed at Sapnap, who was currently watching them from where he was leaning against the wall.

“Are you kidding? I’ve been taking care of both of your sorry asses for like a week now. I need a break,” Sapnap scoffed in response.

Dream looked like he wanted to say something back, but George quickly cut him off; he really wasn’t in the mood for an argument right now. They had done enough of that in the past few days.

“To be honest, I don’t remember much of what’s happened really since I left. I remember going to the village, and I think I was being chased—”

“Bandits probably,” Sapnap interjected.

“—but after that, all I can remember was waking up in a ditch and somehow making it here. I can’t even really remember what my first few days back were like…”

At the troubled look on George’s face, Dream gently put a hand on his shoulder and held him close.

“It’s ok, I don’t remember much of my time out, either. Though I do remember being force-fed that awful medication — why the hell was it spicy?” Dream wheezed, trying to lighten the mood. George rolled his eyes playfully and leaned against the man’s chest as he wrapped the last bandage.

“I risked my life getting that for you and all you have to say to me is ‘why the hell is it spicy?”

This only succeeded in making Dream wheeze harder as he pressed his face into George’s hair.

“Alright, alright. Thank you for getting me medicine... even if it was spicy,” he chuckled. George huffed and closed his eyes. Even with his darkened glasses on, everything was still too bright. He knew that it would probably be a while before he fully recovered from the head injury and he knew even then it might have some lasting effects. However, he also knew that his friends would help him and be there for him when he needed it.

They sat in silence for a bit; it was a nice relaxing silence — the kind that came after panic and fear when you finally knew everything was going to be ok. After a while, George heard Sapnap get up and make his way over to him. Soon after, he felt the warm weight of the younger man press against him. This wasn’t the first time the three of them had been like this, curled up against each other, just listening to the others’ breathing, but it always meant the same thing. They were okay and no matter what, they would always have each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!
> 
> So that's the end of Agnosia, I really hoped you guys enjoyed it! I certainly wasn't expect my first fic to get so much attention, but you guys are amazing! Every single one of your comments absolutely touches my heart. I do have a sequel in mind for Agnosia but I haven't written it yet so it might be a little while. Like I said last chapter if you guys are interested I might do a bonus chapter where I explained the medical stuff of the fic but we'll see! Once again, thank you guys so much for the support <3


End file.
